Europe's FTTH/B Connections Grow 20% – Report

VALENCIA -- FTTH Conference 2018 -- The number of FTTH/B (fiber-to-the-home/building) connections across an extended European region grew by 20.4% in the 12 months to the end of September 2017 to hit a total of 51.6 million, according to the latest annual statistics published by research house IDATE in a report commissioned by the FTTH Council Europe.

The percentage increase looks impressive, and follows a 23% growth number for the previous year: In stark statistics, the number of FTTH/B connections across the so-called "EU 39" (covering the European Union area and stretching as far east as Khazakstan) has increased by 15.7 million during the past two years.

Russia is still by far the biggest single market covered in the study with 18.9 million connections and was the market with the largest number of FTTH/B additions, nearly 1.83 million, in the year to September. Russia, then, is responsible for almost 37% of the EU 39 total, though it should be noted that the vast majority of Russia's total are households in multi-dwelling units that have a fat fiber connection to the basement and then split connections to the individual units.

Not far behind in terms of additions, though, was Spain, which added more than 1.6 million FTTH/B connections during the 12-month period under review for 36% year-on-year growth. That rapid growth, testament to the regulatory framework in Spain and the willingness of the rival operators to cooperate in rollout projects, makes Spain the number two country in the EU 39 in terms of total connections, boasting just over 6 million in total.

France added nearly 1.07 million new FTTH/B connections, up 34% year-on-year, to take its total to about 4.2 million.

The number of homes connected (or passed, though not necessarily with an active connection) in the EU 39 grew by 16% to more than 148 million and there are plenty of signs that number will continue to grow in the next few years as countries such as Italy and even the UK ramp up fiber access roll-out activity.

In this insightful Light Reading radio show, Kurt Raaflaub, Head of Strategic Solutions Marketing, will outline the key service provider challenges, deployment considerations, next-gen Gigabit technologies, and service models to win market share in the rapidly growing MDU market.

The MDU market continues to face fierce competition among service providers due to tech-savvy residents (i.e., millennials), demand from building owners and management companies, plus the favorable economics of bulk contracts. However, no MDUs are the same, so service providers must use multiple technologies and inconsistent deployment models, increasing operational complexity and rollout costs.

The MDU market itself is evolving as residents adopt smart-home technologies, generating rising demand for smart apartments with built-in connected thermostats, keyless entryways and doors, and video doorbells. This evolution presents both new challenges and opportunities. In other words, service providers must consider innovative service-delivery strategies to compete and win.

In this Broadband World News and ADTRAN webinar, Kurt Raaflaub, Head of Strategic Solutions Marketing, will highlight emerging MDU broadband Internet trends and challenges. In addition, Kurt will outline the next-generation service creation and delivery platform, built on open standards, that allows service providers to connect millions of underserved MDUs, enables creation of user-driven services, and reduces operational complexity and costs.

Plus, special guest, Alice Lawson, Broadband and Cable Program Manager for the City of Seattle, will discuss Seattle’s B4B-Build For Broadband initiative that addresses best practices in planning for MDU telecommunication infrastructure.